As she crossed the Boston Marathon finish line last year, Alicia Golden of Quincy was upset about missing by 30 seconds her goal of finishing the race in four hours.

But that concern soon had little meaning, as bombs would explode near the finish line.

Golden’s goal this year isn’t to set her best time. Rather, she wants to immerse herself in the sights and sounds that make the Boston Marathon a truly magnificent spectacle. That includes acknowledging all the people who stand along the side of the road to high-five runners.

“I get in a zone, and I ignore them. This year, if they are sticking out a hand, you can bet I will return that hand slap. That’s what makes Boston unique – the spectators. I want to be able to experience them and appreciate them. That is my goal this year. And when I finish, I can’t wait to throw my hands up over my head and reclaim Boylston Street,” she said.

Golden 30, a personal trainer with a master’s degree in occupational therapy, is the president and chief operational officer of her company, A Healthy Balance.

She will run in her third Boston Marathon on Monday. She trains with the L Street Runners Club in South Boston and is running for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Team.

Last year, Golden ran with a good friend. They had crossed the finish line and were watching other runners come in when there was a loud bang and a cloud of smoke.

“At that point you are trying to rationalize. I knew what it was, but I didn’t want to believe it. My friend said it was a manhole cover. I turned to him and said, ‘No way, that was not a manhole cover,’” Golden said.

Even now, she gets goose bumps thinking about that day. “Every time I go back to Boylston Street, I can so vividly still picture it. It brings it all back, especially that smell. It was the smell of gunpowder, and that burning acrid smell. Then the air was filled with the sounds of sirens, and it became a scene of just total chaos,” she said.

Golden remembers going with her father to watch her first Boston Marathon when she was 5 years old. As she and her dad stood in the crowd, eating hot dogs from Casey’s in Natick and watching the runners, she vowed to one day run the race.

Page 2 of 2 - The day of the bombing, she was looking for her father at the finish line.

“I was thinking, where’s my family? How the heck am I going to find them? I don’t run with a phone. And I’ve got so many thoughts going through my head. I headed in the direction away from the bombs, and toward where I thought my family would be,” she said.

Golden said her father always carries a helium balloon with a happy face when she runs so she can find him in a crowd.

“It’s really OCD ridiculous, but it works,” she said, laughing. “... So, I’m looking for that stupid balloon. Suddenly that sea of people parted, and there was my dad about 50 meters way, and that was the first time I lost it. We hugged and said OK, let’s go.